Sunday, August 30, 2009

Crest Trail Cruiser

went up one of my favorite trails this morning, with my friend Cheryl, whom i will be pacing at Wasatch 100 in a few short weeks. after a minor miscommunication this morning (i was waiting at the wrong park and ride and had also forgotten my phone) we carpooled up the canyon.

Started from the top of Millcreek, and took my favorite fall-back trail, because it was a *bike* day and not a *dog* day in Millcreek today. (for those of you who understand this terminology, skip ahead. for those of you unfamiliar, a short explanation. salt lake city and county have some weird watershed and usage rules once you get up into the nearby canyons and foothills. Millcreek Canyon is popular with locals for hiking, running, mountain and road biking, and picnicing. upper canyon trails are designated *dogs may be off-leash* on odd days [i remember this by all of the words having an "o": dog, off, and odd] and mountain bikes allowed on even days. bikes may not be on the upper trails on odd days [although once in a while you will get a poacher, and if i see you, i will make a point of saying something] and dogs may be present on even days, but must be on a leash.)

so Cheryl, the dogs and i went up a trail that is little used by bikers, and hit it early so that we would not encounter much bike traffic on the descent. we ambled up through one of my favorite meadows, and the dogs concentrated on putting as many burrs and seed pods in their fluffy coats as possible. we popped out on the Crest Trail above Desolation Lake, and after enjoying the view for a few short moments, cruised back down to the trailhead. i love it when a run feels like 1/3 of the distance is uphill and 2/3 of the distance is cruiser singletrack downhill. we ran into a couple of ultra runners on the way down, and socialized for a few minutes. we encountered a few mountain bikers, who were all courteous on the trail (shocker!) and several families with kids and dogs (on leash) en tow.